English 10

 Greetings English 10!

So today is an important day: Essay prep day. Please read through all of this to help your thinking and planning. First - the topics. PICK ONLY ONE:

(challenge accepted!) Are people condemned to become the monsters they overcome?

(2 supporting points, 1 counterclaim)

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Nietzsche

In order to prepare for this question, look at the Reader's Digest articles we used for some practice writing. There are examples here that describe our nature in positive and negative ways. Read them through once more and decide which side seems more likely. Of course, you should also look at Animal Farm as a source for your argument as well. For this essay, you only need 2 supporting points, and one counterclaim paragraph where you should also show why your opponent's argument is wrong.

How does Napoleon's personality align with those traits of a dictator?

(3 supporting points, no counterclaim)

To succeed at this question, use "The Psychology of Dictators" article. It describes several aspects of a dictator's personality. The question challenges you to measure the personality and characteristics of a dictator in that article with the characteristics of Napoleon. This is more of a literary-argumentative essay. You will need 3 supporting points, one for each paragraph.

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The first topic is moderately more difficult, but offered as a challenge as it's more philosophical and demands that the student use grounded evidence. If you are feeling eager or ambitious, you are welcome to give it a shot. Keep in mind, the only change to the essay format between these is going to be the use of a counterclaim. The first topic needs 2 supporting reasons and a counterclaim. The 2nd topic is just 3 supporting reasons.

English 11

Today we're handing in our close reading assignment!

Then we're going over chapter 5 questions and things.

Then we're on to chapter 6 :)

Our goal with chapter 6 is to update our character guide. Early in the unit we created a 3 column chart with initial impressions of each major character. Once we're done chapter 6, it's time to update it.